United States Army Warrant Officers Association
USAWOA ONLINE
Pay Compression Chronology
Warrant Officer Pay Compression
continues to be a major concern of many military service-related organizations, and The Military Coalition (TMC).
See Position Paper
&
graph
which are updated periodically. They are used at every opportunity to pursue this issue with our fellow TMC members, The Army, Defense Department, other services, and Congress. Pay compression has worsened over the years. It stems from "well intentioned and well deserved" raises for
noncommissioned officers. (Read from the top (oldest) to the bottom (newest) in order to understand this complex issue)
BACKGROUND - In October 1981 General E. C. Meyer,
then Army Chief of Staff, wrote: "Will work the WO pay issue the next go around. "It just wasn't possible based on the bills before Congress this go around."
- see letter with hand written note!
The Chief Warrant Officers Association of the U.S. Coast Guard supports
the U.S. Army Warrant Officers Association position on warrant officer pay compression! (See their letter to Representative Jones). Also supporting the USAWOA position are
The Military Coalition,
AUSA, NGAUS,
ROA, MOAA and more.
See "Pay increases: Will Warrants be overlooked?"
in the July 24, 2000 edition of the Army Times on page 22.
USAWOA Briefed the ADS XXI WOPMS Team
- U. S. Army Warrant Officers Association Executive Director, briefed the Warrant Officer Personnel Management Team of the ADS XXI Task Force on "Warrant Officer Pay Compression" and "Proposed Fix" by USAWOA in November 2000. See also
ADS XXI Director's Update. Proponents were briefed on December 6th at the Personnel Proponency Action Officer Workshop at Fort Belvoir, VA. In a related development, the Director of the ADS XXI Task Force was interviewed by the Army Times -
see December 18th article summarizing the recommendations including those approved by the Army Vice Chief of Staff on November 2,2000.
USAWOA sent a
letter to the Director of the 9th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation (QRMC)
on September 15th outlining the WO Pay Compression Issue and our "Proposed Fix." USAWOA, along with the other members of The Military Coalition's Personnel, Compensation & Commissaries Committee, had a very productive meeting with the QRMC Director on November 21st.
-
As a direct result of this meeting, USAWOA and the TMC made a WO Pay Compression briefing in early 2001 to the QRMC Colonel Level Working Group.
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The QRMC is a Department of Defense Panel and is appointed every four years. The panel performs analysis, develops proposals, and makes recommendations to the Secretary of Defense, the President and the Congress on pay, allowances, and compensation issues for members of the Uniformed Services.
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See also 9th QRMC Report below.
Bernard Rostker, the Pentagon's personnel chief spoke to reporters in late December 2000 with a progress report on the 9th QRMC efforts to date - see the
Army Times January 8th article regarding warrant officer expansion and pay compression factors in the study. See also USAWOA Letter to
Under Secretary Rostker.
USAWOA received a letter in March 2001 from Lt. Gen. Timothy Maude,
then Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, in response to our January letter regarding Warrant Officer Pay Compression. Lt. Gen. Maude encouraged us to continue to pursue this issue with the Defense Department Quadrennial Review of Military Pay and Compensation Panel as will his representative on this panel.
USAWOA and other representatives of the Military Coalition
briefed the Defense Department Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation working group on February 23, 2001. They are charged with a complete review of pay and allowances for the uniformed service. See the USAWOA
After Action Report for more details.
USAWOA Executive Director Toured and Briefed WO Pay Compression
and the Proposed Fix -
In late March 2001 the U.S. Army Warrant Officers Association Executive Director briefed the USAWOA position and proposed fix at the Acadiana Chapter at Fort Polk, LA and as a guest speaker at the ARNG Command Chief Warrant Officer Conference in New Orleans. In early April, the Executive Director was a guest speaker on the subject at the Northwest Chapter, at Fort Lewis, WA at the invitation of I Corps, a USAR Boat Company and the Trailblazers Chapter in Seattle, WA and at the Annual Convention of the US Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer and Warrant Officers Association.
AUSA Offers 3 Corrections to Military Pay Table Problems
- In April 2001 The Association of the United States Army released a "Defense Report" on Pay-Table Reform which addresses NCO, warrant officer and captain's pay table corrections rather than a "partial quick fix" to some elements of the rank strata. See the
AUSA report. This presentation by AUSA, in collaboration in part with USAWOA, clearly echoes our concerns about "Pay Compression."
TROA on Military Pay
- $1 billion should be down payment on pay shortfall. Bonuses Won't Close Pay Gap - In the May 2001 issue of the RETIRED OFFICER The Retired Officers Association outlines their testimony in the U.S. House of Representatives. An extract of testimony by COL (Ret) Bob Norton, Deputy Director of Government Relations, was "The pay-raise gap needs to be closed. That doesn't necessarily mean equal "catch-up" raises for all. TROA believes that mid- and senior-grade NCOs and warrant officers need an extra raise because they have considerably more education and high-demand technical skills that in the armed forces in the past. We recruit the top half of the population and educate, train, and filter them to keep the best and brightest, and they're not just 30-something high school graduates." (Note TROA is now
MOAA, the Military Officers Association of America)
The Army Times edition of May 14th, 2001
features an article headlined "Planned Pay Raises", "Plan would bring 5 percent pay raise" and "Some would get more under options outlined by service chiefs." -
See article.
Army Times
article of June 1, 2001
reports Pentagon plans on targeted military pay raises in January 2002 have run into a major obstacle - Rep. John Murtha, D-PA. Murtha is pressing for an across-the-board 7.3 percent raise and calls targeted increases unfair to too many troops. USAWOA has sent a
letter to Congressman Murtha explaining the Warrant Officer Pay Compression issue and requesting his support. We need the support of all warrant officers.
Must reading is "Better pay, housing get top billing"
on page 10 of the July 9, 2001
Army Times which summarizes the Administrations budget request for fiscal 2001. Also read "Minimum pay raise too paltry, Democrats say" on page 11 in the July 9, 2001
Army Times. Congressmen Murtha and Skelton plus 26 other members of the House Appropriations Committee are saying that there should be an across-the-board 7.3 percent pay raise for all service members which would cost over a billion dollars more BUT they do not proposed adding and extra money for the raise. Instead they would rearrange the Defense budget to cover the additional raise. They also acknowledge the need for the targeted pay proposed by DoD but they do not indicate where the money would come from and the DoD should take a proactive approach to address this issue. On June 26, 2001, Congressman Murtha introduced H.R. 2310 which proposes a 7.3% pay raise for all grades, plus targeted pay raise percentages listed in the resolution for selected officer, warrant officer and enlisted pay grades.
See H.R. 2310 for details.
"Comparing 2002 Pay Charts -
Which Targeted Pay Plan is Best for You"
on pages 12, 13, and 14 of the July 16th ARMY TIMES discussed the pros ands cons of the Defense Department proposed 2002 pay increases and those of Congressmen Murtha and Skelton. It is the USAWOA position that the size of the proposed NCO/CPO targeted pay raises will further compound the Warrant Officer Pay Compression problem. USAWOA has forwarded letters to
Congressmen Murtha and Skelton
plus each member of the
House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee, plus selected members of the House Appropriations and Armed Services Committees. Letters from USAWOA are also being sent to key Senators.
"Raises won't reverse warrant "pay compression"
on page 12 of the August 6, 2001, Army Times
outlines the USAWOA position and current data on the impact of pay compression on warrant officer recruiting. It also discusses the impact of various proposals recommended by the Quadrennial Review of Military Pay and Compensation, DoD and the administration, Congressman Murtha.
See
USAWOA Legislative Update of August 3, 2001
which summarizes the results of the House Armed Services Committee report out of the Fiscal Year 2002 Defense Authorization Bill. Visit
http://thomas.loc.gov and enter H.R. 2586 in the Bills box to view the entire bill.
See
letter to USAWOA
from the Chairman of the Committee on Armed Services, U.S. House of Representatives on USAWOA lobbying with the Congress.
In October 2001
The Honorable Charles Abell, Assistant Secretary of Defense, said in part
"... this is an issue that deserves some attention. "... more analysis is needed in order to ensure that warrant officer pay is set at appropriate levels."
- see letter.
20-Year-High Military Pay Raise Averages 6.9%
- the President signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2002. This was good news for warrant officers because warrant officer pay raises range between 7.5 and 8.5 percent which is above the average. View, download, or print the 2002 Military
Pay Table which includes basic, pay, allowances, special, and drill pay. Print the
NDAA (681 pages).
Not withstanding the targeted raises for warrant officers, this pay raise is just the beginning towards over coming warrant officer pay compression. USAWOA and the TMC will continue to press on this issue.
Newslines: Pay and benefits
"Services seeking funding to continue target pay raises"
article appeared on page 23 of the January 28, 2002,
Army Times. The article announces the Pentagon plan for an average 4.8 percent pay raise for the military with the services seeking additional funds to continue targeting higher increases for the same grades that were targeted for bigger raises this year. The article also clearly outlined the U.S. Army Warrant Officers Association position on Warrant Officer Pay Compression.
U.S. Army Warrant Officers Association, Chief Warrants and Warrant Officers Association of the U.S. Coast Guard, and other The Military Coalition
organization representatives
met with the Defense Director of Compensation and staff to discuss military compensation, allowances, pay compression and other issues in late January. See the latest USAWOA Pay Compression
position paper and
graph which were presented at this meeting. USAWOA and the TMC will continue work to exert influence at these and congressional levels.
"2003 budget gives Army about $10 billion more" an ArmyLINK News article states in part
"... On the people side of the house, the budget funds a 4.1-percent pay increase for all soldiers and allows a targeted pay raise of up to an additional 2.4 percent in selected pay grades. While the specifics have not been fully worked out, Sinn said, the targeted pay raise will likely be directed to sergeants through sergeants major,
warrant officers, captains and majors. The budget supports a 2.1-percent pay raise for Department of the Army civilians." - see complete
article.
"The Warrant Officer Ranks: Adding Flexibility to Military Personnel Management,"
a report, was released by the Congressional Budget Office of the U.S. Congress in February 2002 - see
Fact Sheet. To view the CBO Report go to
www.cbo.gov, click on "Publications", then click on "Search" and enter "warrant" in the "word/Phrase" block. The Report will appear right hand panel. Click "More" to view the report or you may download the file.
TROA and TMC Storm Capital Hill
- On Thursday, April 11, 2002 almost 200 state and national leaders of The Retired Officers Association (TROA) and The Military Coalition (TMC) visited their representatives' and senators' offices to support funding of retired pay and VA disability compensation, Survivor Benefit Plan improvements, a military raise, and more.
Coalition Testifies Before Senate -
Representatives of TROA and TMC presented the Coalition's personnel and compensation priorities before the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee also. Among those priorities are resolution of the WO Pay compression issue.
(Note TROA is now
MOAA, the Military Officers Association of America)
Ninth Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation
Report
was released on May 17th, 2002. Warrant Officer compensation is covered in the Executive Summary and in the body of the report. See also 9th
QRMC Briefed by USAWOA and TMC above. The Ninth QRMC Report can be viewed on the web at
www.defenselink.mil/news/May2002/bo5172002_bt248-02.html.
"Warrant incentives warranted"
on page 52 of the 21 October 2002 Army Times,
in reference to the ATLDP-WO Study, states in part "If the Army is serious about erasing the short-fall in the warrant officer ranks, it should fast track the incentives for soldiers to make the leap." See the
Army Times article.
The Military Coalition Committee on Military Personnel, Compensation and Commissaries issues Legislative Priorities for 2003
- Goal number 2 states in part
"TMC also fully supports recommendations included in the 9th QRMC addressing targeted increases for mid-career and senior enlisted personnel, warrant officers and some officer grades. Despite progress on pay, continued attention is needed to ensure that compression between warrant officers and senior enlisted pay does not diminish the financial incentive for enlisted members to move to the warrant officer ranks."
Bush Rejects Military Raise Cap; 2004 Hikes To Average 4.1%
(Newport News Daily Press, January 17, 2003) Rejecting a plan by his budget office to cap the 2004 military pay raise at two percent, President Bush instead will propose a "targeted" increase that would boost pay an average of 4.1 percent, almost a full percentage point higher than wage growth in the private sector, administration sources said. If approved by Congress, next January's military raise will be capped at two percent only for new recruits. For all other service members, the pay increase will range from 3.2 percent to more than 6 percent, with the biggest raises going to senior enlisted personnel.
Web Survey Allows Leaders to Know What's Bugging the Troops
- The status of Forces Survey allows service members to bring their personal concerns directly to those in charge in the Defense Department. The 2002 Active Duty Survey was the first since 1999 and the first conducted on the Internet. Some interesting fact about Warrant Officer pay were surfaced in the survey report. (see DoD Press Release) The
Army Times (March 17, 2003, page 20) reports that "Warrant Officers -- a relatively small and specialized community that has received far less attention in recent pay raise initiatives than career enlisted ranks -- are the least happy with their pay, with a large majority expressing dissatisfaction". The article also states "While fewer troops bad-mouthed their pay in 2002 than did three years ago, this doesn't mean the majority are satisfied". "... a closer look widely differing opinions on pay. For instance, 24 % of the officers surveyed ... were dissatisfied with basic pay, compared to 54% of the junior enlisted members, 51% of the senior enlisted in grades E-5 to E-9 and
61% of the warrant officers". The article goes on to say "Soldiers and Marines voiced the most dissatisfaction over pay -- 53% and 52%, respectively, were dissatisfied -- while 46% of sailors and 42% of airmen were dissatisfied.
Targeted raises bypass officers, take aim at warrants, NCOs
- say the headline in an Army Times feature story in the March 31, 2003 edition. "The Pentagon proposes to spend an extra $185 million next year on targeted raises for career enlisted people and warrant officers" per the article. Fiscal Year 2004 targeted raises might see W-1 receiving a 5.25% pay raise in years of service 6 through 14, a W-2 seeing a 5.50% raise in years 8 through 16, W-3 a 5.75% raise in years 12 through 18 and a W-4 a 6.0% raise in years 16 through 26. See
more to include the proposed FY04 Warrant Officer pay table. Also in the DoD package is a fix for a technicality that prevents warrant officers in critical MOS from receiving accession bonuses normally available to newly commissioned officers. Newly commissioned officers in critical skills can get bonuses of up to $60,000. Because the Army does not commission warrant officers until they reach CW2 they are excluded. Since Army Warrant Officers are recruited from the enlisted ranks where some qualify for reenlistment bonuses, not only do they loose their bonuses upon appointment to warrant, they also end up have to pay back some of the bonus upon being appointed to WO1. To fix this situation, DoD proposed to make accession bonuses equal to the amount of the reenlistment bonus the soldier gives up. In a sign of strong support for all service members, the Senate voted on March 25, 2003 to set aside $3 billion for increasing military pay and benefits in 2004.The amendment to the 2004 budget resolution passed by a vote of 100-0. USAWOA and the Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officers Association thank our partner organizations in The Military Coalition for their support on the long-standing issue of reversing warrant officer pay compression!
USAWOA and CWO & WO Association of the Coast Guard thank TMC member organizations -
joint letter thanks our fellow The Military Coalition organizations for past support of initiatives to fix warrant officer pay compression and solicits their future support. Targeted WO pay raises in 2001, 2002, 2003 and proposed for 2004 will do much to reduce WO pay compression. We understand that DoD proposed pay tables for 2005 will contain further targeted pay raises for warrant officers. USAWOA and CWOA USCG will continue to focus attention which is necessary to reverse the situation - see
Letter and enclosures.
2004 Pay Raises
- The 2004 National Defense Authorization Act includes an active duty pay increase of at least 3.7 percent to all military members. Although the average pay raise is 4.15 percent, active duty Warrant Officers and Enlisted personnel will be receiving a pay raise that ranges from 3.7% to 6.25% with the largest percentages going to enlisted
service members E-5 and above. Commissioned Officers on the other hand will receive a flat 3.7% pay raise across the board. The new raises are effective on 1 January 2004, this means
service members will see the increase in their 15 January paychecks - see
Warrant Officer Pay Table for FY 2004.
No Targeted Pay Hikes in 2005 - All ranks would get 3.5 percent under plan. The fiscal 2005 budget will support the high morale and quality of our military people through good pay and benefits. It requests a 3.5 percent military base pay raise and completes the elimination of average out-of-pocket housing costs for military personnel living in private housing. Prior to fiscal 2001, the average service member had to absorb over 18 percent of these costs. In a moved that shocked military personnel officials and congressional aides, the White House Office of Management and Budget rejected the Pentagon's Plan for another round of targeted pay. Congressional aides stressed that the White House's 2005 military pay plan is only a proposal and might change when Congress considers the budget request. See Defense Department Press Releases at
www.defenselink.mil/releases/2004/nr20040202-0301.html and
www.defenselink.mil/news/Feb2004/n02022004_200402021.html. Stories in the
Army Times and other press indicate the Department of Defense continues to seek targeted pay for some grades, particularly mentioned is targeted pay for some senior
noncommissioned and chief petty officers.
The Military Coalition (TMC) Legislative Goals for 2005.
Our own President Emeritus Don Hess has been representing USAWOA at TMC Meetings.
Targeted pay raises are once again being supported by the TMC. This, along with many other issues in support of our uniformed services and their families, will be presented in TMC testimony at Congressional Hearings. The specific legislative goal is
"TMC supports initiatives to achieve pay comparability and support targeted pay increases for certain enlisted and officer grades."
The specific Action Item of interest to all Warrant Officers is "Champion targeted pay increases for mid-career and senior enlisted personnel,
warrant officers and some officer grades per recommendations by the 9th QRMC as needed to achieve the new 70th percentile standard.
Continued attention is needed to ensure that compression between warrant officer and senior enlisted pay does not diminish the financial incentive for enlisted members to move to the warrant officer ranks."
USAWOA National Vice President CW4 Gary Nisker
wrote a comprehensive article on WO Pay Compression - see
Recovering from WO Pay Compression which was published in the February 2005 USAWOA NEWSLINER.
In February 2006 the
Warrant Officer Advisor to the Chief of Staff Army provided an update on Warrant Officer Issues
- initiatives covered included Targeted pay for Warrant Officers -
"3. WO Pay Table Reform Initiative:
This initiative, which was recommended by the WO ATLDP study, would increase the pay difference between NCO and WO grades to provide more incentive for NCOs (specifically senior NCOs) to apply for WO. The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is now the sponsor for the pay initiative for NDAA 2007. Along with the annual pay increase in January 2007, OSD has proposed an additional pay scale adjustment in April 2007 to close current gaps in pay for both warrant officers and higher ranking enlisted personnel. There is also a proposal to extend the pay table to encourage longer service. This proposal, as with any change in law, must go through the legislative process for both the House Armed Service Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee this spring before it will be forwarded for inclusion in the final NDAA 07. The action is working its way through the "system" but that does not guarantee final approval. A recent article in reference to the pay issue was published in the 13 February 2006 Army Times. (update provided by CW5 Carl Jenkins, WO Policy Integrator, Army G1)"